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Good news for chocolate (milk) lovers

Children's favourite is as good or better than sports drinks

The interesting thing about chocolate milk is that it didn’t have to change a thing to be considered a market threat. Its original recipe matches the recommended ratio for the perfect post-exercise recovery drink — three parts carbohydrate to one part protein.

Photograph by: Allen McInnis
, Montreal Gazette

It’s been more than 40 years since Gatorade challenged water as the beverage of choice among athletes. Since then several competitors have tried to grab a share of the lucrative sports drink market, worth $3.9 billion, according to a 2011 report by SymphonyIRI Group report, a market-research company.

The newest kid vying for a position in this ever-growing market is chocolate milk. An admittedly late entry to the mix, nutritionists have been singing its praises for years. But it’s only recently that milk retailers have been aggressively marketing their product as a healthier alternative to other commercial sports drinks.

The interesting thing about chocolate milk is that it didn’t have to change a thing to be considered a market threat. Its original recipe matches the recommended ratio for the perfect post-exercise recovery drink — three parts carbohydrate to one part protein.

The carbohydrate (the chocolate part of the drink) is used to refuel muscles drained of glycogen, the energy source needed to fuel muscle activity. Protein (the milk part of the drink) is instrumental in rebuilding muscle damaged from a tough workout. Combined, they create a one-two punch that tops up energy stores in anticipation of the next game or practice.

But there’s more than just theory behind the magic of chocolate milk. Laboratory testing has demonstrated several times over that athletes were able to ward off fatigue longer in ensuing workouts if they consumed chocolate milk immediately after exercise.

Interestingly, the majority of the research used elite male cyclists as their test sample. And despite the fact that most of the studies found chocolate milk to be at par or better than plain sports drinks at promoting recovery, there remains the question whether recreational athletes and women will derive the same muscle-building, glycogen replenishing benefits as their male counterparts.

A team of researchers from Kean University in Union, New Jersey, decided to compare not just chocolate milk to traditional carbohydrate based sports drinks but also their effect on women as compared with men. Twenty-six Division III soccer athletes (11 women, 15 men) were chosen to test the effects of chocolate milk and a traditional carbohydrate based sports drink (Gatorade) on recovery. And they did it under normal pre-season training conditions while the athletes were following their regular diet.

Each athlete had either low-fat chocolate milk or Gatorade immediately after morning practice and again two hours later. After the afternoon practice, they performed a 20-metre shuttle run to fatigue alternating between 55 and 95 per cent of their VO2 max.

When the results from men and women were combined, chocolate milk and Gatorade produced a similar time to fatigue. But when separated by gender, the men were able to sustain their shuttle run for 1.5 to 2 minutes longer after drinking chocolate milk vs. Gatorade. The women demonstrated no difference in performance between the two beverages, for which the researchers had no answers but suggested it worthy of future study.

"Practitioners can suggest drinking low-fat chocolate milk immediately after exercise and throughout the recovery period in a volume that will help athletes obtain about 1 g carbohydrate per kilogram body weight per hour," said the Keane University researchers. "They can encourage their athletes to substitute low-fat chocolate milk for full-fat dairy products and suggest foods such as fruit smoothies or cereal made with chocolate milk to improve diet quality while promoting recovery."

The results of the Keane study combine with several others validating the use of chocolate milk as a post-workout recovery drink. And because chocolate milk contains nutrients that Gatorade doesn’t, like protein and calcium, it’s a good opportunity to top off your stores of both.

That said, athletes need to be careful of something chocolate milk has more of than Gatorade and that’s calories. Those extra calories may not be of concern to elite athletes who train several hours a day. But they can add up quickly for the recreational exerciser who burns 300 calories a couple times a week during moderate-intensity activities.

So when is the best time to consume a recovery drink? Right after a tough workout or game, especially if you’re going back to the gym or playing field later the same day or the following day. As for deciding between chocolate milk and other sports drinks, the choice is yours. Just make sure it stays true to recommended recovery recipe of three parts carbohydrate to one part protein.

If you want good bounceback energy, but without extra calories, Gatorade (look for its recovery drink in the G series) will do fine. But if a hit of chocolate is more to your liking, then chocolate milk does a great job at getting you back to game speed in time for your next workout.

The interesting thing about chocolate milk is that it didn’t have to change a thing to be considered a market threat. Its original recipe matches the recommended ratio for the perfect post-exercise recovery drink — three parts carbohydrate to one part protein.

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